Show Synopsis:
Angel Antonelli dreams of returning to the past, and returns to the roller rink, which is her childhood home, to find that her mother Anna has sold it. Anna fights with Angel about her becoming a ?hippie,? and in a flashback, the ghosts of these two former women reveal themselves. Angel does not understand how the rink got to such a dilapidated state and Anna remembers how she had to take care of her alcoholic husband after his service in World War II. Angel figures out that Anna forged her signature to sell the rink and begins preparations to save the rink, though Anna tries to tell her the entire amusement park is coming down because times have changed so much. Mother and daughter bond momentarily over a toke of marijuana and remember the men in their past, including when Anna told Angel her father was dead, although he really just left them. Angel goes for a walk outside and Anna resumes packing, but when she comes back they recall the night she first left the rink. On her senior prom night, her Uncle Fausto showed up drunk and revealed that her father was alive, causing her to completely distrust her mother. Angel reveals that she has also raised a child by herself, like Anna did, and named her Anna. Older Anna asks Angel for her forgiveness and they reconcile for good.
Character:
Anna Antonelli, a middle-aged woman who cared for her alcoholic vet husband and her young child with tremendous strength and is looking forward to freedom from responsibility; domineering when it comes to her daughter, but believes she knows what is best for her.
Song Context:
Anna is cleaning up the building and offers the workers tearing it down the finals beers from the refrigerator in celebration of her liberty.
Fun Facts:
1. Chita Rivera won her first Tony Award for her performance as Anna in the original Broadway production.
2. This number is one of many that shows the conflict between Anna and her daughter. Liza Minelli, who played Angel, told Kander and Ebb that she wanted to be in this musical because there ?wasn?t one sequin in it.? This musical was more dramatic and somber than others she had been in."
"When I sit
And remember the past
(Though I?d rather not sit
And remember the past)
If I happen to sit
And remember the past,
I hear so many voices
Masculine voices
They oughta do this,
They oughta do that,
They oughta, they oughta,
They oughta, they oughta
[spoken]
I can?t be every place at once, I?m only one person, Everybody?s only one person
[sung]
I was running the rink,
Running a household,
And being a wife,
?Working Her Ass Off"" should of the title
Of the story of my life.
Chief cook and bottle washer -
That?s what I always was,
Doing what some cook and bottle washer does.
Go stand and take the tickets.
Go make the corn go pop.
Bread to bake and beds to make
And rugs to shake and floors to mop!
Then when we break at seven,
Up comes my thoughtful pet saying
?Ay, ain?t my dinner ready yet??
Oh what heaven life can be
When you?re chief cook and bottle washer like me!
Chief cook and bottle washer,
That?s what I always did.
Then I had the great good luck
To have a kid!
So now it?s warm the bottle,
See what she?s crying for
Bathe and wipe and rock and wipe
And bake and make and mop and pop,
Exactly like I did before.
Then Daddy?s up at 7,
Peeks in the bassinette,
Saying ?ay, ain?t my dinner ready yet??
Oh what heaven, now we?re three,
And you?re chief cook and bottle washer,
Big chief cook and bottle washer,
Chief cook, bottle washer and baby maker
Like me
But now hallelujah!
I?m through!
Daddy?s gone and the baby makes two
My time, hell, its way overdue.
My bill I paid, my future?s made.
I?m selling off this rathole,
I?m getting of my knees,
On my way and in my prime
And at my ease.
Don?t let ?em burn the bunt cake,
Let all the mopping stop.
There?ll be no more bread to bake
Or beds to make
Or floors to mop.
Hey porter, grab my luggage!
I?m getting on some jet!
And hear me say
""Ay, ain?t my dinner ready yet??
Oh what heaven it will be
When I got cooks and bottle washer,
Lotta cooks and bottle washers
For me!"